Affairs of the Nation

Frances Ruane

Affairs of the Nation

MORE DRAMA AT THE ABBEY

WHEN GOLDHAWK profiled the Abbey Theatre’s joint director, Graham McLaren, earlier this year (see The Phoenix, 25/1/19) the Abbey was under heavy fire. While the chair, Frances Ruane (ex-ESRI director),... Read more »
Sophie Toscan du Plantier

Affairs of the Nation

IAN BAILEY: TRIAL BY ERROR

A FRENCH FARCE will shortly (late May) follow the Irish farce that was the Garda campaign to charge Ian Bailey with the 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. The... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

CRYSTAL LI’S TENDER DOCUMENTS

CONGRATULATIONS to Goldhawk’s favourite Russian lawyer, Olga Shajaku, who has sent a shot across the bows of Paschal Donohoe’s Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER), where the mandarins are... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Nicky Woulfe

Affairs of the Nation

LIMERICK POSTER BOY

LIMERICK’S St Paddy’s Day celebrations cost the city council €30,000, leaving just €60,000 in the municipal allocation for such ventures, but ambitious local DJ, Nicky Woulfe, is looking for half... Read more »
Dermot Desmond

Affairs of the Nation

DERMOT DESMOND’S BUMPY RIDE

THERE WAS plenty of excitement last week surrounding shares in Datalex, the airline technology company (sorry, “leading provider of digital commerce solutions to global travel retailers”) that had shocked the... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

BAD SPORTS AT TRINNERS

A spectacular row is on the boil in Trinity College Dublin where the University Times (UT), newspaper of the Trinners Student Union, is being accused of bugging a student’s apartment.... Read more »
Billy Kelleher

Affairs of the Nation

KELLEHER: PRO- LIFE VENGEANCE

MYSTIFICATION AT Fianna Fáil TD Billy Kelleher’s defeat at the Euro convention for the South constituency was soon clarified as most delegates and members elsewhere realised that the frontbencher had... Read more »
Sinead O'Connor

Affairs of the Nation

SINÉAD O’CONNOR’S EX

THE DREADED taxman has just registered a judgment against one Fachtna O’Ceallaigh, who happens to be the former long-term manager and former lover of the singer formerly known as Sinéad... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Sean Fleming

Pillars of Society

PROFILE: SEÁN FLEMING

WHAT IS it about the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that has provoked such a backlash from ministers, government TDs, Leinster House... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Hozier

The Young Bloods

YOUNG BLOOD: HOZIER

Expressing oneself while offending as few people as possible is a key trait of modern pop stars and Hozier is no exception. In an... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Ruth Dudley Edwards

Fit to Print?

RUTH DUD DEPARTS ‘SINDO’

LONG-TIME Sunday Independent scourge of Republicanism Ruth Dudley Edwards bid the newspaper au revoir recently. However, she reassured anxious readers that, while she was exiting the paper, she would occasionally... Read more »
Diageo Dana An Garda Síochána IT Trust No Stone Unturned Irish Times Black Friday Vicky Conway

Fit to Print?

FIONA MITCHELL’S DESK

RTÉ’S departing south-eastern correspondent, Damien Tiernan, gave the station a lash as he walked out the door in January. Tiernan pointed out that news stories broadcast from the Waterford studio... Read more »
Gemma O'Doherty

Fit to Print?

GEMMA EXPOSES CHRISTCHURCH!

“INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST” Gemma O’Doherty has either produced the international scoop of the 21st century or shot herself in various limbs with the assertion that the Christchurch horror “has all the... Read more »

Last Refuge

Clare Daly

Last Refuge

DALY AND WALLACE FOR EUROPE?

THE FOURTH seat in the Dublin Euro constituency is seen as hard to call, with the first three going to Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael), Barry Andrews (Fianna Fáil) and Lynn... Read more »
Ruth Coppinger

Last Refuge

RUTH COPPINGER’S BORDER LINE

THE CURIOUS fascination of the ‘bourgeois media’ with the attacks on TD Paul Murphy’s Socialist Party (SP) from its comrades on the Committee for a Workers International (CWI) may have... Read more »
Paschal Donohoe

Last Refuge

PASCHAL, SIMON AND VLAD

SOMEBODY IS stirring it for Simon Coveney, with the Sunday Times followed by the Irish Times both suggesting that Paschal Donohoe is now the anointed successor to Leo Varadkar. This... Read more »
Mark Durkan

Last Refuge

MARTIN LET DURKAN SLIP TO FG – TWICE

FINE GAEL’S acquisition of former SDLP leader Mark Durkan to its Euro election ticket in Dublin has been characterised as a brilliant coup by Leo Varadkar. It seriously embarrassed Fianna... Read more »

Hush Hush

Jack Sen

Hush Hush

SLEEPWALKING WITH THE FAR RIGHT

The biggest shock for New Zealanders is that the Christchurch massacre at two mosques happened at all. The Kiwis pride themselves on being a ‘land of the welcomes’. But just... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

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Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

Garda called a ‘dickhead’ A CARRICK-ON-SUIR man called a garda a “dickhead” and made a rude gesture at him when the officer seized a car he was sitting in. Dean... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Richard Bruton

Fowl Emissions

KIDDING YOU NOT

The kids are all right. Last Friday, an estimated 1.4 million schoolchildren worldwide walked out of school and took to the streets to demand climate action. The scale and intensity... Read more »
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Fowl Emissions

LEO VARADKAR’S FARM FAN

Just days before the schools climate strike, another street-based show of strength took place in Dublin, this time in the leafy environs of Lansdowne Road. Donning their green scarves, Taoiseach... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Theresa May

Bird's Eye View

DUP’S HARD BARGAIN

WHAT WERE the DUP and what passes for a British government talking about as Theresa May headed towards a third attempt to get her withdrawal agreement over the line? All... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

David McWilliams

The Hot Air Brigade

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

The key difference between England and Ireland is class dynamics and education. A lovely expression of this is the cheese counter at the new artisan Dunnes. David McWilliams, Irish Times,... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Rosheen McGuckian

High Society

ROSHEEN McGUCKIAN’S EXIT

THERE HAVE been changes at NTR’s charitable foundation, with NTR chief executive Rosheen McGuckian, who chaired the charity, stepping down last year. McGuckian is... Read more »

High Society

Bernie Butler

High Society

BERNIE BUTLER’S ENERGY BALLS

AT LAST week’s DMX Dublin marketing conference in the Aviva stadium, the great and good gave their tuppence worth, including the likes of former... Read more »

High Society

Consuelo O’Connor

High Society

KAREN’S WEDDING DATES

THE IRISH arm of a business that organises glamorous weddings in the port of Lindos on the sunny Greek island of Rhodes has come a cropper at the hands of... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Sheila Pratschke

Behind the Scenes

NO QUEUE TO SUCCEED PRATSCHKE

CULTURE MINISTER Josepha Madigan’s search for the next chair of the Arts Council has begun (albeit a little late in the day), but suitable candidates are in rather short supply.... Read more »
Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

Behind the Scenes

SLOWLY DOES AT IVEAGH HOUSE

DOCUMENTS released to Goldhawk reveal that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade created the new post of cultural director as it was deemed one of a number of “urgent... Read more »
Katie Holly

Behind the Scenes

MORE HAPPY ENDINGS FOR FILM PRODUCERS

BY HAPPY coincidence, figures have emerged from three separate film and television funding schemes that dispense public lolly to hard-pressed producers. The Sound and Vision fund at Michael O’Keefe’s Broadcasting... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Sean Mulryan

Sport of Kings

BOOM GETTING BOOMIER

FANS OF Goldhawk may not have been too surprised to see Sean Mulryan in the winners’ enclosure at Cheltenham last week (see The Phoenix, 22/2/19). Mulryan celebrated his first runner... Read more »
Rachael Blackmore

Sport of Kings

BLACKMORE’S BRACE

DESPITE HER ascension into the top tier of jump jockeys, Rachael Blackmore still had a point to prove as, before the Cheltenham festival, she hadn’t ridden a Grade 1 winner... Read more »
Brendan Duke Adrian Murray Mick Bailey

Sport of Kings

DECLAN LAVERY’S SURPRISE BAN

A GROUP of Irish amateur jockeys felt the full force of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) at Cheltenham when the trio of Declan Lavery, Rob James and Noel McParlan were... Read more »
Rich Ricci

Sport of Kings

RICCI FEELS THE HEAT

CHELTENHAM provided liberal helpings of thrills. There was also karma of sorts at play when the Rich Ricci-owned Benie Des Dieux, considered by many as one of the bankers of... Read more »

Reviews

Seána Kerslake

Movies

THE HOLE IN THE GROUND – DIRECTED BY LEE CRONIN

THERE’S NOT much wrong with Lee Cronin’s technically adept debut, The Hole in the Ground. Its problem is that, although it is streets ahead of recent Irish-made schlockers, like Brian... Read more »
Dearbhail McDonald

Reviews

FERTILITY SHOCK – RTÉ 1

DEARBHAIL MCDONALD is group business editor at Independent News and Media, but in recent times has been developing her brand beyond the confines of the business pages. A regular on... Read more »
WHEN ALL IS SAID - ANNE GRIFFIN (SCEPTRE)

Books

WHEN ALL IS SAID – ANNE GRIFFIN (SCEPTRE)

THIS DEBUT novel from the prize-winning short-story writer takes the form of a series of expansive inner monologues by a recently widowed 84-year-old farmer, Maurice Hannigan. Over the course of... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Albert Manifold

Moneybags

TIME FOR CRH TO SPIN OFF US INTERESTS

TAKING ADVANTAGE of the recent collapse in CRH’s share price, the arrival on the share register last month of the largest activist fund in... Read more »

Moneybags

Tony Smurfit

Moneybags

WILL INT PAPER SWOOP ON SMURFIT AGAIN?

SMURFIT KAPPA’S Tony Smurfit has proven a short-sighted CEO who displays little awareness of the bigger picture. When the much larger International Paper (IP)... Read more »

Brief Cases

Hot Water Brigade default

Brief Cases

BACSTROKE’S BAD NEWS

SPARE a thought for the production company and, er, specialists in inflatable leisure Bacstroke Limited, which featured on the tax defaulters’ list, having paid the Revenue almost €60,000, including penalties... Read more »
Rachel Graham

Brief Cases

RACHEL GRAHAM BOUNCES BACK

Rachel Graham and hubby Victor Graham’s Italian-themed Dundalk restaurant, Eno, had a liquidator appointed last month. Entrepreneur Rachel previously owned a specialist shoe shop, The Shoe Room, which catered for... Read more »
Evan Chamberlain

Brief Cases

TV PRODUCER FEELS THE PINCH

A busy Ranelagh-based television production firm, Good Company Productions Limited, starred in the latest tax defaulters’ list, having paid the Revenue some €219,000 (including €78,000 in penalties and interest) for... Read more »
Alan Hynes

Brief Cases

FINAL WORD ON ALAN HYNES?

A small legal notice published in the media last week by Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) marks the final chapter in the long-running Alan Hynes saga. The legal note confirmed that... Read more »
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Brief Cases

VITGESON’S MILLION EURO BONUS

THE receiver of a Nama-controlled property development company, Vitgeson Limited, offloaded a 59-acre site in Blackcastle, Co Meath, for a healthy €9.5m – €1m more than it had been previously... Read more »
Ruthie Heatherington

Brief Cases

RUTHIE H’S HARD TIMES

FANS of Goldhawk will remember nutrition entrepreneur Ruth Heatherington and her company, Miss Fit Enterprises Ltd, which has now been wound up. Heatherington previously refused to tell Goldhawk if the... Read more »
Joan Lynch

Brief Cases

JOAN LYNCH’S TAXING TIMES

ONE of the companies in the Born Clothing franchise, Born Clothing Ltd, has featured on the tax defaulters’ list, having paid the taxman €260,000, including €110,000 in interest and penalties... Read more »